Monday, April 11, 2011

Making a Sweater Coat Part 7

SEWING SLEEVES AND FRONT

I lay out all the sleeve pieces just like before, leaving pieces on one sleeve.

I sew the other sleeve together, first in strips in strips.

With all the strips done, I decide how to press seam allowances, trying to get most pointing down, and at the same time trying to avoid really bulky spots. I press with a medium hot iron and tons of steam. The wool really responds well to lots of steam as long as you wait for them to cool and dry before moving them.

I assemble the two front panels just like the sleeves.

This is the pile of colorful scraps of felt cut by the cutter on my machine. It feels like there should be some use for these bits of wool and cashmere. Anyone?

After I finish each seam on my serger, instead of cutting the thread, I sew two scraps of fabric together and leave it in my machine until I get the next seam pinned and ready to go.

This way, I don't end up with so many long ends of thread everywhere, plus I get crazy patches of new fabric to make stuff. I might make a pillow with these.

I certainly hope to finish it one of these days... getting there. Tell you mom I told her to hold tight.

I'm happy you like the colors, too. I think there's enough gray and dull blue in there to balance out the light and bright blues. I like that it's loud because of the patchwork, and not because of the colors.

Part of the fun of making stuff is even I don't know what it's going to look like until it's all done. There's always an element of surprise as I finish each seam. I hope all of the photos are able to relay that feeling for you.